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Birding/Cardinal nest by front door

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Expert: - 4/11/2008


Question

Mother Cardinal sittin
We have been watching a pair of cardinals building a nest in a large bush right beside our front door. We can see her perfectly from our front window. She has three eggs in her nest now, and is generally their, incubating, whenever we look out the window. She does, however fly off every time we go in or out of the door, returning a few minutes later. I don't want to scare her off for good, especially now that she has eggs to incubate, but at the same time, I can't exactly stop  using my front door! So, for curiosity's sake, will her leaving the nest three or four times a day for a few minutes at a time when our passing by spooks her interfere with the hatching of the eggs? I'm not sure there is much we could do differently, but the kids are excited about the possibility of seeing baby birds, so just trying to know what to expect! Thanks so much!

Answer
That's hard to answer as I just can't predict. A little bit of disturbance is ok but too much will eventually cause her to abandon the nest. I don't the the exact situation - when the door is opened, how long the kids are around, what other disturbances there are, etc. Certainly, the less disturbance the better.

Roger Lederer

Expertise

Any and all about WILD birds - the science of ornithology. Information about birdwatching, ecology, conservation, migration, behavior, banding, rehabilitation, feeding, songs, binoculars, identification, and careers in ornithology. No questions about pet or caged birds, please.

Experience

Have a PhD and over forty years as a professional ornithologist - research, teaching, author, speaker, webmaster of Ornithology.com . Have written thirty scientific papers, three bird field guides, a textbook in ecology and two recent books entitled "Amazing Birds" and "Birds of New England". Have traveled to over 90 countries watching birds.

Education/Credentials
PhD in Zoology/Ornithology; Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences; former Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at California State University, Chico

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